THE BINDWEED FAMILY 87 



at its nodes and rising again. If no vertical support can be 

 obtained, the plant does not thrive well. Supports stanrling up 

 vertically are preferred to any others, for they enable the plant 

 to come to the light in the shortest time. 



2. The "Forerunning Tip" of the Lianas. — The tip of the climb- 

 er is of particular interest being characteristic of all climbers. 

 There are only a few very small leaves or rather leaf-buds on it 

 at large intervals, and these buds do not unfold for a long time, 

 i.e, till the part of the stem above them has taken a firm hold. 

 The advantage a climber derives from this constitution of its 

 tip is evident. It keeps the stem light and movable, and 

 enables it to slide through any hole in the thicket through which 

 it seeks its way up to the light. It has rightly been called the 

 "forerunning tip" of the lianas. 



Not all the Hanas are Tivining Climbers. Some climb by sliding 

 with their tips through the branches of other trees and growing 

 spreading branches which lean against their supports without actually 

 clinging to them. These climbers are often furnished with spines and 

 thorns which they use to prevent their gliding back. Such scramblers 

 are the Rose (see page 45), the Rangoon Creeper {Quisqualis indica), 

 the Bamboo, etc. Other climbers produce rootlets along their slender 

 stems by which they cling to their supports as by a thousand little 

 fingers. Such Root- Climb er^s are the Pepper vine and many genera 

 of the family of the Aroideae, e. g., Pothos scandens (Kan. Adkebilu ; 

 Mai. Anapparuva). Most climbers, however, develop special organs 

 for climbing, namely tendrils, by means of which they seize their 

 supports. Tendril Climbers are the Pea, the Cucumber, the Grape 

 vine, etc. 



3. The Thirst for Light in Plants. — In the second part of this 

 book (Assimilation) it will be shown why plants require the light 

 of the sun for their growth. The amount of light required is, 

 however, not the same for all plants nor is it the same for the 

 different parts of a plant. Plants generally protect their young 

 buds and shoots against the direct light of the sun, as for instance 

 the Elephant .Climber, by keeping them folded for some time and 

 by a dense coat of hair on the outer side, or as the Mango tree, 

 by providing a red pigment in the outer cells and by letting the 

 leaves hang vertically. This is because intense light destroys 

 the green grains in the cells of the leaves. The glaring light 



